It has suddenly occurred to the Republican and Tea Party brain trusts that Dan "Those Comments Might Have Been Incorrect Comments" Maes is not actually qualified to be governor. Or much else.

This is troubling on at least two counts — one, that Maes' lack of qualifications is news to anyone, much less a brain trust; two, that these leaders believe Maes cares what they think.

Why would Maes possibly drop out of the race now, other than the fact that virtually nobody — at least virtually nobody other than Democrats — wants him to stay in?

What we have is a political collapse of epic proportion. And yet it should have been obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention that his campaign was always headed this way.

The big question I have for the brain-trusters is this: Don't you guys read the papers?

Let's see. There was the United Nations-is-taking-over-Denver bike flap. There was the campaign-finance, no-I-can't-justify-my-mileage car flap. There was the Christopher N. Osher profile in The Denver Post in which Maes said not only that he should have just fooled around with his first wife instead of marrying her but also that his parents weren't overly bright. There was the job he lost as a cop in Liberal, Kan., in which (we learned later) he wasn't exactly undercover. There was the successful-businessman ruse, despite the fact that he was apparently living under the poverty line for the past few years.

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In the normal course of affairs, Republicans would have tried to buy Maes out with a job. In this entirely abnormal course of affairs, there can't be anyone who would employ him.

And yet, none of this registered with the 198,000 people who voted for Maes. Yes, GOP chairman Dick Wadhams has been trying to get rid of him ever since Scott McInnis imploded. And Tom Tancredo, in his own inimitable style, did sound the warning — saying he would save the party by destroying it.

But in spite of everything, Maes is the guy Hank Brown, the party's high priest, endorsed and then had to unendorse. And Maes is the guy John Andrews, as late as Wednesday, was saying had his "unwavering support," which is now, of course, in full waver. It just occurred to Tea Partyer Janet Rowland — best known for saying, in her bid to be lieutenant governor, that same-sex marriage could lead to men marrying sheep — that Maes is a "fraud." She could have added "grifter," but I guess she didn't want to pile on.

The list keeps growing. Ken Buck, who had said he "absolutely supports" Maes, was by Thursday night down to hoping Maes "would do the right thing," which sounds like something less than absolute support. The rats — and I mean that only in the nicest way — are jumping off the sinking ship. But what of the captain?

People keep saying Maes has delusions of grandeur, but there's nothing delusional about the 198,000 votes he got. He is the nominee. As nominee, he can live off the land for the next two months, which may be the best job he could get — if, in fact, Motel 6 is still taking his credit card.

This is his life. You don't have to wonder if it was an accident that the $300 check he slipped into Freda Poundstone's bag was unsigned. We know this trick. Next thing, when he sends the check in the mail, the letter won't have a stamp on it.

You've got a guy living on mileage checks and the hope he can someday sell his memoirs: "Undercover Guv."

Tancredo, meantime, has said his offer to drop out of the race no longer applies — and that, whatever happens, he's in it until the bitter end. I know Tancredo doesn't really want the job, but he has raised $200,000, and he'd look pretty foolish backing out now.

So, if Tancredo and his American Constitution Party buddies are making it impossible for any Republican to win, there's no real reason for Maes to go away.

Maes says this has turned into a culture war — the People against the Republican machine. The strange thing is, he's not alone. One e-mailer informed me that he was voting for Maes because Maes was an everyday person, as if, you know, we should all get our shot at the job.

Maes can't win, but he's got what they call a puncher's chance. It was the wildest punch that took down McInnis, although Maes was pretty much a spectator for the entire fight.

And it doesn't take much imagination to see Tancredo, who has been trailing Maes in every poll, pulling his usual outrage.

In this race, anything is possible. John Hickenlooper, whose goal is to say nothing that can get him into trouble, might have some secret to be divulged. As of now, the biggest scandal he has faced is that he was too generous in giving money to unrevealed charities.

If anyone can dig up the dirt, it would be Maes, who could go undercover to bust up the charity ring.

It's either that or he'll be the guy in the fake mustache and glasses taking the next bus out of town.